Chapter 6
George Weasley was in a quandary. He was in the midst of planning a prank, but this one was more complicated than most. Instead of just doing this for his and his brother's amusement, this particular prank had an ulterior motive. Because of this problem, he and Fred had yet to come up with a suitable plan.
"Fred that'll never work. I hate to say this, but we need help."
Fred sighed. "I know, but who do we ask?"
George gestured over to a table where the only things that could be seen were a lot of books, an extremely fast moving quill, and some bushy brown hair. "Why not Miss Braniac over there?"
Fred shook his head. "She'll never help us out. She's a prefect."
"But this is for Harry and Ginny," George replied. "She promised to help."
"All right, let's see what we can do."
The twins quietly made their way over to Hermione's table, making sure that she didn't notice their approach. On George's signal, Fred transfigured one of the spare quills she had lying around into a small lizard. Hermione was oblivious to the lizard at first, but then it meandered on to her parchment. The twins' efforts were rewarded with a shrill scream, and they burst out laughing. After Hermione had got herself under control and reversed the transfiguration, and the twins had just got themselves under control, they finally talked to her.
"Hermione, my brother's dearest, we have come to you with a request for help," George began.
"Help? From me?" Hermione said shrilly. "After what you just did? Go find someone else for your pranks."
"But my brother's dearest," replied Fred, "We need your unique brainpower. Besides, this is about Harry and Ginny."
"All right," said Hermione exasperatedly. "As long as you quit calling me 'My brother's dearest'."
"But Hermione," said George, with a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, "That's what you are."
"I know that, but I don't need you two calling me that. It's just annoying," she stated. "Now what can we do?" "Well, we don't need to do anything. What we need is for Harry and Ginny to do something, together," said Fred, in a pensive tone.
"That's not too hard," said Hermione. "Harry has an invisibility cloak, and I'm sure it would be quite cozy with the two of them underneath it."
The twins were obviously impressed. "Much thanks, Hermione. That gives me a great idea," said George. The twins started back to their own table, but halfway, George turned back. "Goodbye, my brother's dearest," he said with an ear-to-ear grin, then ducked to avoid the book Hermione had thrown at him.
* * * * * "Look, all I know is they said I need a few of his hairs, and then they would tell me the rest once I got them," Harry said to Ron, frustrated.
"Gred and Forge must be up to something," replied Ron. "I don't see any other reason for this." The three friends were on their way to Care of Magical Creatures, and Harry and Ron were discussing the task that the twins had given Harry. "Just let me have a go at it. This could be the most fun I've had all year."
"I highly doubt that," said Harry, with a pointed look towards Hermione, who had been quiet throughout the discussion. All he got in return was a glare, "but that's fine with me. I know I'm going to enjoy this too."
By this time, they had reached the enclosure by Hagrid's hut. The Slytherins were already there, and Draco was making his usual remarks about Hagrid.
"It's amazing he's still here, really," drawled Draco to Crabbe and Goyle. "I mean, after all that's happened to me in this class."
"I'll make sure something happens to you, you evil git," growled Ron under his breath. "I'll feed you to Fang; how does that sound?"
"Calm down, Ron," said Harry. "We get to have fun with him this lesson."
This seemed to placate Ron. "Yeah, we will, won't we?"
Class got started. They were studying flobberworms, so no one was really paying much attention. Malfoy and his cronies were huddled together, and Malfoy was faced away from the trio. Grinning wickedly, Harry raised his wand, pointed it at Malfoy's head, and whispered, "Accio hair." A couple of the distinctive platinum blonde strands came zooming towards him, and, as an added bonus, Draco jumped, looked around and started rubbing his head. The three friends clamped their hands to their mouths to keep the laughter from escaping, but their bodies gyrated with the effort involved.
They waited until the end of class to do it again, and this time Ron did the honors. If anything, they got an even more pronounced reaction out of Malfoy, causing them to very nearly lose it. Class ended, so the fled, getting away from the Slytherins as fast as possible. "That was brilliant," gasped Ron, who was out of breath from a combination of laughing and walking at a high rate of speed. "I can't wait to see what those two have planned for this."
* * * * * The next morning found Harry awake at an unusually early hour. He was sitting next to Ginny at a table in the Common Room, with Fred and George pacing in front of them. George had Ron's stick, and was acting very much like an army general. Fred had a vial of potion and the hairs that Ron and Harry had taken off of Malfoy. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to sneak down to the kitchen and plant these in Snape's breakfast."
Harry, amused by this performance, leaned over and whispered to Ginny, "Have they been watching Muggle movies?" Ginny giggled and nodded. They both jumped at the loud crack that was George slamming the stick on to the table.
"Pay attention Potter!" he bellowed. "You too, Weasley. As I was saying, it has come into our attention that you are in possession of an invisibility cloak." Harry heard Ginny gasp at this proclamation. "Are you still in possession of the Marauder's Map?"
"I am," replied Harry, thinking of the beginning of the year. The first time he had opened his trunk in his dormitory, the Map had been on the very top. He suspected that that was Dumbledore's doing.
"This should be easy for you then. Just sneak down under the cloak, and then Ginny can distract the house elves while Harry stays under the cloak and "alters" Snape's food, said George. "He always has his food specially prepared, so it will be obvious which is his."
Fred handed them the vial and the hair, which was in another vial. "May the force be with you," he told them, causing Harry and Ginny to break out into laughter.
* * * * * The trip down to the kitchens was uneventful and silent, with only a few pauses for Harry to check the map. Ginny had never been to the kitchens before, so she was interested when Harry tickled the pear, revealing the handle. "Good luck," he whispered into her ear as she stepped out of the cloak. She turned red, and held one hand to the ear he had whispered into, and opened the portrait with the other. She stepped into the kitchens for the first time, and felt Harry brush by her, still under the Invisibility Cloak. She was surprised when she was immediately greeted by half a dozen house elves. One of the elves, who seemed to be rather more outgoing than the others, spoke up.
"What would my fair lady like this morning?" he asked her. Perhaps some porridge and toast?" Ginny just gaped for a moment. Was that a tea cozy he was wearing as a hat?
She recovered herself, and replied, "No, just a couple cakes, please." She kept staring at him, as he ran off to fill her request. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn that he was wearing a Weasley sweater under that tie, but it was a third the size of something any of her brothers could wear.
Just as she noticed the elf come back with her pastries, she felt something squeeze her hand. Harry had completed his task obviously, and she was relieved. The elf gave her the food, so she thanked him and exited the portrait with Harry. Once outside, she rejoined Harry under the cloak, and they proceeded up the corridor.
The trouble came as soon as they reached the main corridor. A loud crash emanated from ahead of them, followed closely by a scream of "PEEVES!" from behind them. Harry grabbed Ginny and flattened her against the wall just as a cackling Filch ran by with Mrs. Norris hot on his heels. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until it left her in a rush, and with this large exhale came a sudden realization.
Harry Potter had his arms around her. Not just that, but he was holding her close. Her breath caught again. My, oh my, what should she do now? Should she pull away? Should she stay there? Her brain was buzzing, and she realized she was rooted to the spot. She caught her breath again, and wondered what this meant.
* * * * * Harry exhaled with relief. That had been way too close for comfort. Why did Peeves always have to get into things at the worst times? He remembered the time when they had gone to the third-floor corridor, and encountered Peeves pulling up carpet along the way. This time had been just as close a call, but the mission was far less important this time around.
Harry's breathing was just becoming normal when it caught again, for he had just noticed that he was holding Ginny. Though just holding her wasn't enough to describe it in his mind, as she was close enough to cause all sorts of buzzing along his nerves. What in the name of Albus Dumbledore was he going to do now? Had she noticed the effect that she was having on his mental processes? He decided to just drop his arms before she turned around and slapped him.
"Erm. . .," Harry cleared his throat, "Maybe I should keep a better watch on the map."
"Yes," Ginny agreed. She seemed unable to come up with more of a response. They headed up the corridor, Harry keeping a firm eye on the Map. They made it up the corridor and all the way back to the portrait hole without incident, and then took off the Cloak so they could give the Fat Lady the password. She looked at them with a gimlet eye, probably because students rarely got up before breakfast, but let them in without a word. Once inside the Common Room, the twins waylaid them. Fred and George began bombarding them with questions, and didn't stop until Ginny put her hands over each of their mouths and told them in no uncertain terms, "One question at a time, or you'll get no answers at all."
With that declaration, George started out the interrogation. "Well, did you manage to plant the items?"
Harry answered for himself and Ginny. "Yes, we did. The house-elves were absolutely no problem at all."
Fred spoke next. "Did you have any problems along the way?"
Harry again answered, "On the way back, Peeves destroyed something, and Filch nearly ran over us while we were under the Cloak. We got out of the way, and I don't think Filch noticed us at all."
Fred got a dreamy look on his face. "Ah, Peeves. An inspiration to all those who aspire to wreak havoc and cause mayhem in the castle." Still wearing the dreamy look on his face, he then looked Harry and Ginny, "Did you manage to get any food while you were at it?"
Ginny just held up the cakes and grinned.
* * * * * Harry sat down at breakfast that morning with an anticipatory smile on his face. He took his accustomed spot across from Ron and Hermione, next to Ginny, and began laughing at his two friends. Usually their romantic antics were slightly irritating and embarrassing, but today he was in such a good mood that he found them entertaining. He turned to look at Ginny. She too was smiling, and seemed to be in as good of a mood as he.
"When do you think we'll get the payoff?" he asked her.
Ginny turned and looked up at the staff table, where Snape had just sat down to his "specially prepared" breakfast. "Anytime, I think. What exactly was in that vial anyway?"
Harry thought that one over for a minute. "I know the hair is supposed to be evidence, but I really have no idea as to what exactly was in that other vial. Uh oh."
"Uh oh is right," said Ginny. "I don't think my brothers would be too malicious, but they do hate Snape."
"All we can do is wait and pray," replied Harry. They didn't have to wait long, though, as at that moment Snape's head fell face first into his food. The Great Hall went silent, and everyone turned to look at the fallen professor. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey hurried over to him. Madam Pomfrey pulled him upright and began checking him, while Professor McGonagall began examining his plate. She apparently found something, because she held up an object that was invisible to the students. She then straightened and called out, "Draco Malfoy, please come with me." A buzz started among the students, full of wild speculation that only increased when Madam Pomfrey conjured a stretcher and floated Professor Snape away on it.
Laughing while they walked, Ginny and Harry made their way over to where the twins were sitting with Lee Jordan and the three Chasers. "What was in that vial?" asked Harry between chuckles.
"Oh, just a 24 hour Sleeping Draught," replied George, amongst the laughter of the older students. "We felt that we shouldn't have Potions, so we sent you on the mission today."
"Thanks," said Ginny. "You chose a day when I don't have Potions. You're going to pay for this one."
Harry, on the other hand, was smirking. "I do," he said. "This is a joyous occasion indeed."
"We know," Angelina said dryly. "We have class right after you. Snape's always in a foul mood, muttering about 'that dratted Potter.' We get the leftovers from his tirades against you."
"Sorry about that," chuckled Harry. "At least you get today off. Talk to you later." He and Ginny wandered off to join Ron and Hermione. "Hey Ron, where are you going?" he yelled as he walked back. "The Common Room is that way."
Ron and Hermione turned around. "But Harry, we have Potions," said Hermione.
Harry just grinned. "Not today we don't."
* * * * * Harry was sitting in the Common Room later that day, trying to get his homework finished before Quidditch practice, when Fred and George skidded to a stop in front of him. He looked at them suspiciously. "What are you up to now?"
George immediately looked affronted. "Why, Captain Potter sir, we are hurt. We would never do anything to raise suspicion."
"Nothing at all," Fred continued for his brother. "We would never eavesdrop on Professor McGonagall giving Malfoy a detention."
Harry was intrigued. "What does he have to do?" "Ah, now you're thinking along the proper lines. Tomorrow night he has to help the house elves cook. Since the crime was done in the kitchen, the punishment must also be there. We like how Professor McGonagall thinks."
"But we need your help. You're the one with an Invisibility Cloak, after all. We want pictures. You'll be able to borrow Colin Creevey's camera, since you are his idol, and take Ginny the same way as this morning. You might want to switch roles, though, so the house-elves don't get suspicious."
Harry grinned. "This will be fun. Now, let's get to practice."
* * * * * Harry's good mood was undiminished after practice, even though he was soaked to the bone. Practice had been nearly perfect, even through a storm that would have been better termed a monsoon. The twins had listened to Harry the entire time. The girls had been impressed, especially after the dive-bombing debacle of years previous. Harry wasn't going to tell them it was due to the fact that he was involved in their ongoing prank.
The only problem he had now was the fact that his head was ringing. He had had to put away the balls himself tonight. Usually he had the Reserves do it, but he had sent them in early because of the storm. While he was putting away the balls, he had slipped and hit his head on the crate that held the balls. Because of this, he had barely evaded Filch on his way up to the Tower, and had nearly passed out while he was in the bath in the Prefects' Bathroom. He didn't want to see Madame Pomfrey and hear her cluck over him again, especially since she was still in a bad mood about having Professor Snape in the Hospital Wing. He wobbled his way to the Common Room, and flopped heavily on to one of the couches, thankful that he had finished his homework before practice. He leaned his head back on the cushion, and promptly fell over sideways.
"Harry? Harry! HARRY!" Harry looked up to find the source of the voice. His vision was blurry, but it cleared quickly and he saw a pretty, upside- down face framed with red hair looking at him with concern.
"Oh, Hi Gin," Harry said.
"Harry, you scared me, falling over like that. What's wrong?" she asked.
"Hit my head on the ball crate," he replied.
"You should go to the Hospital Wing, she stated, sounding very much like her mother.
"I'm not going there again," Harry stated flatly.
"Well, at least, put this on your head." She transfigured a spare mug into a ice pack and gave it to him.
"Thanks," he said, putting the icepack over the spot where he had hit his head. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do," she declared. "Who else is going to go with me tomorrow night?"
"They told you about that?"
"Of course. They need me, after all. I'm one of the few people that they can trust, and who they don't need to be around them," she said, smiling.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"Well, they'd trust Angelina and Katie, but they want them around at all times, right?" she said, clearly amused.
"Oh yeah. . .," Harry's voice trailed off as he realized what exactly she had meant. Ginny giggled, and Harry laid back and enjoyed being nursed for the evening.
* * * * * "OK Potter, are you sure you're up to this?"
"Yes, Ginny," Harry said with an exasperated sigh to punctuate her giggles. He had enjoyed being nursed the previous night, but the payoff had been a full day of Ginny making fun of him for his weakness. "I didn't go to the Hospital Wing, did I?"
"Only because your male pride got in the way," she said. "If you had any sense you would have gone."
"Well, obviously I don't, so let's get on with the task at hand," he said, annoyed.
They made their way down the familiar path to the kitchens. Harry, remembering the hard-earned lesson from their previous trip to the kitchens, again kept a hard eye on the Map. He once had to pull Ginny off to the side to avoid Peeves, but they reached the kitchens without further incident. Once again, Ginny slipped out of the cloak and pulled open the portrait. They had decided she would elicit far less attention from Malfoy than he would. This time, the twins had asked her to bring back a mince pie, so she obliged them, and Harry made quick work of the photography. They quickly exited, and once they were out, Ginny asked Harry about his part.
"Well, did you get them?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah," Harry said with a sinister smile. "I got them all right. You'll love these photographs." She tried to get him to tell her more, but he just gave her a strange smile, and would not say a word. When they got back to the Common Room, he gave the camera to Colin, with instructions to develop them and give them to the twins straightway.
* * * * * Three days later, the photographs forgotten, Ginny walked into the Great Hall with the famous trio to find almost everyone but the Slytherins laughing. A Gryffindor First Year who she didn't know handed her something. She didn't look at it right away, instead searching for her older brothers, who were usually the ones responsible when this pattern of laughing happened. Having found them, she left the now laughing Harry and Ron with the tutting Hermione, who seemed to be having a hard time keeping from laughter herself.
"What did you do?" she asked them.
George answered. "Us? We didn't do anything."
Fred continued, "We're perfectly innocent, as always"
"Anyway, you did all the work."
"You and Harry."
"The results are in your hand. They speak for themselves."
Ginny looked down at the object in her hands, and was greeted with the funniest thing she had seen in some time. It was a wizard photograph of Malfoy dutifully making a cake in the kitchens. The crowning detail was the absolutely ridiculous baker's hat on his head. Ginny wore a smile for the rest of the day.
A/N: Many thanks to Nome for the idea of Malfoy in a baker's hat. It was the basis for the whole chapter. Also, many thanks to my beta reader Imogen. Without her, my story would be filled with USisms.
George Weasley was in a quandary. He was in the midst of planning a prank, but this one was more complicated than most. Instead of just doing this for his and his brother's amusement, this particular prank had an ulterior motive. Because of this problem, he and Fred had yet to come up with a suitable plan.
"Fred that'll never work. I hate to say this, but we need help."
Fred sighed. "I know, but who do we ask?"
George gestured over to a table where the only things that could be seen were a lot of books, an extremely fast moving quill, and some bushy brown hair. "Why not Miss Braniac over there?"
Fred shook his head. "She'll never help us out. She's a prefect."
"But this is for Harry and Ginny," George replied. "She promised to help."
"All right, let's see what we can do."
The twins quietly made their way over to Hermione's table, making sure that she didn't notice their approach. On George's signal, Fred transfigured one of the spare quills she had lying around into a small lizard. Hermione was oblivious to the lizard at first, but then it meandered on to her parchment. The twins' efforts were rewarded with a shrill scream, and they burst out laughing. After Hermione had got herself under control and reversed the transfiguration, and the twins had just got themselves under control, they finally talked to her.
"Hermione, my brother's dearest, we have come to you with a request for help," George began.
"Help? From me?" Hermione said shrilly. "After what you just did? Go find someone else for your pranks."
"But my brother's dearest," replied Fred, "We need your unique brainpower. Besides, this is about Harry and Ginny."
"All right," said Hermione exasperatedly. "As long as you quit calling me 'My brother's dearest'."
"But Hermione," said George, with a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, "That's what you are."
"I know that, but I don't need you two calling me that. It's just annoying," she stated. "Now what can we do?" "Well, we don't need to do anything. What we need is for Harry and Ginny to do something, together," said Fred, in a pensive tone.
"That's not too hard," said Hermione. "Harry has an invisibility cloak, and I'm sure it would be quite cozy with the two of them underneath it."
The twins were obviously impressed. "Much thanks, Hermione. That gives me a great idea," said George. The twins started back to their own table, but halfway, George turned back. "Goodbye, my brother's dearest," he said with an ear-to-ear grin, then ducked to avoid the book Hermione had thrown at him.
* * * * * "Look, all I know is they said I need a few of his hairs, and then they would tell me the rest once I got them," Harry said to Ron, frustrated.
"Gred and Forge must be up to something," replied Ron. "I don't see any other reason for this." The three friends were on their way to Care of Magical Creatures, and Harry and Ron were discussing the task that the twins had given Harry. "Just let me have a go at it. This could be the most fun I've had all year."
"I highly doubt that," said Harry, with a pointed look towards Hermione, who had been quiet throughout the discussion. All he got in return was a glare, "but that's fine with me. I know I'm going to enjoy this too."
By this time, they had reached the enclosure by Hagrid's hut. The Slytherins were already there, and Draco was making his usual remarks about Hagrid.
"It's amazing he's still here, really," drawled Draco to Crabbe and Goyle. "I mean, after all that's happened to me in this class."
"I'll make sure something happens to you, you evil git," growled Ron under his breath. "I'll feed you to Fang; how does that sound?"
"Calm down, Ron," said Harry. "We get to have fun with him this lesson."
This seemed to placate Ron. "Yeah, we will, won't we?"
Class got started. They were studying flobberworms, so no one was really paying much attention. Malfoy and his cronies were huddled together, and Malfoy was faced away from the trio. Grinning wickedly, Harry raised his wand, pointed it at Malfoy's head, and whispered, "Accio hair." A couple of the distinctive platinum blonde strands came zooming towards him, and, as an added bonus, Draco jumped, looked around and started rubbing his head. The three friends clamped their hands to their mouths to keep the laughter from escaping, but their bodies gyrated with the effort involved.
They waited until the end of class to do it again, and this time Ron did the honors. If anything, they got an even more pronounced reaction out of Malfoy, causing them to very nearly lose it. Class ended, so the fled, getting away from the Slytherins as fast as possible. "That was brilliant," gasped Ron, who was out of breath from a combination of laughing and walking at a high rate of speed. "I can't wait to see what those two have planned for this."
* * * * * The next morning found Harry awake at an unusually early hour. He was sitting next to Ginny at a table in the Common Room, with Fred and George pacing in front of them. George had Ron's stick, and was acting very much like an army general. Fred had a vial of potion and the hairs that Ron and Harry had taken off of Malfoy. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to sneak down to the kitchen and plant these in Snape's breakfast."
Harry, amused by this performance, leaned over and whispered to Ginny, "Have they been watching Muggle movies?" Ginny giggled and nodded. They both jumped at the loud crack that was George slamming the stick on to the table.
"Pay attention Potter!" he bellowed. "You too, Weasley. As I was saying, it has come into our attention that you are in possession of an invisibility cloak." Harry heard Ginny gasp at this proclamation. "Are you still in possession of the Marauder's Map?"
"I am," replied Harry, thinking of the beginning of the year. The first time he had opened his trunk in his dormitory, the Map had been on the very top. He suspected that that was Dumbledore's doing.
"This should be easy for you then. Just sneak down under the cloak, and then Ginny can distract the house elves while Harry stays under the cloak and "alters" Snape's food, said George. "He always has his food specially prepared, so it will be obvious which is his."
Fred handed them the vial and the hair, which was in another vial. "May the force be with you," he told them, causing Harry and Ginny to break out into laughter.
* * * * * The trip down to the kitchens was uneventful and silent, with only a few pauses for Harry to check the map. Ginny had never been to the kitchens before, so she was interested when Harry tickled the pear, revealing the handle. "Good luck," he whispered into her ear as she stepped out of the cloak. She turned red, and held one hand to the ear he had whispered into, and opened the portrait with the other. She stepped into the kitchens for the first time, and felt Harry brush by her, still under the Invisibility Cloak. She was surprised when she was immediately greeted by half a dozen house elves. One of the elves, who seemed to be rather more outgoing than the others, spoke up.
"What would my fair lady like this morning?" he asked her. Perhaps some porridge and toast?" Ginny just gaped for a moment. Was that a tea cozy he was wearing as a hat?
She recovered herself, and replied, "No, just a couple cakes, please." She kept staring at him, as he ran off to fill her request. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn that he was wearing a Weasley sweater under that tie, but it was a third the size of something any of her brothers could wear.
Just as she noticed the elf come back with her pastries, she felt something squeeze her hand. Harry had completed his task obviously, and she was relieved. The elf gave her the food, so she thanked him and exited the portrait with Harry. Once outside, she rejoined Harry under the cloak, and they proceeded up the corridor.
The trouble came as soon as they reached the main corridor. A loud crash emanated from ahead of them, followed closely by a scream of "PEEVES!" from behind them. Harry grabbed Ginny and flattened her against the wall just as a cackling Filch ran by with Mrs. Norris hot on his heels. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until it left her in a rush, and with this large exhale came a sudden realization.
Harry Potter had his arms around her. Not just that, but he was holding her close. Her breath caught again. My, oh my, what should she do now? Should she pull away? Should she stay there? Her brain was buzzing, and she realized she was rooted to the spot. She caught her breath again, and wondered what this meant.
* * * * * Harry exhaled with relief. That had been way too close for comfort. Why did Peeves always have to get into things at the worst times? He remembered the time when they had gone to the third-floor corridor, and encountered Peeves pulling up carpet along the way. This time had been just as close a call, but the mission was far less important this time around.
Harry's breathing was just becoming normal when it caught again, for he had just noticed that he was holding Ginny. Though just holding her wasn't enough to describe it in his mind, as she was close enough to cause all sorts of buzzing along his nerves. What in the name of Albus Dumbledore was he going to do now? Had she noticed the effect that she was having on his mental processes? He decided to just drop his arms before she turned around and slapped him.
"Erm. . .," Harry cleared his throat, "Maybe I should keep a better watch on the map."
"Yes," Ginny agreed. She seemed unable to come up with more of a response. They headed up the corridor, Harry keeping a firm eye on the Map. They made it up the corridor and all the way back to the portrait hole without incident, and then took off the Cloak so they could give the Fat Lady the password. She looked at them with a gimlet eye, probably because students rarely got up before breakfast, but let them in without a word. Once inside the Common Room, the twins waylaid them. Fred and George began bombarding them with questions, and didn't stop until Ginny put her hands over each of their mouths and told them in no uncertain terms, "One question at a time, or you'll get no answers at all."
With that declaration, George started out the interrogation. "Well, did you manage to plant the items?"
Harry answered for himself and Ginny. "Yes, we did. The house-elves were absolutely no problem at all."
Fred spoke next. "Did you have any problems along the way?"
Harry again answered, "On the way back, Peeves destroyed something, and Filch nearly ran over us while we were under the Cloak. We got out of the way, and I don't think Filch noticed us at all."
Fred got a dreamy look on his face. "Ah, Peeves. An inspiration to all those who aspire to wreak havoc and cause mayhem in the castle." Still wearing the dreamy look on his face, he then looked Harry and Ginny, "Did you manage to get any food while you were at it?"
Ginny just held up the cakes and grinned.
* * * * * Harry sat down at breakfast that morning with an anticipatory smile on his face. He took his accustomed spot across from Ron and Hermione, next to Ginny, and began laughing at his two friends. Usually their romantic antics were slightly irritating and embarrassing, but today he was in such a good mood that he found them entertaining. He turned to look at Ginny. She too was smiling, and seemed to be in as good of a mood as he.
"When do you think we'll get the payoff?" he asked her.
Ginny turned and looked up at the staff table, where Snape had just sat down to his "specially prepared" breakfast. "Anytime, I think. What exactly was in that vial anyway?"
Harry thought that one over for a minute. "I know the hair is supposed to be evidence, but I really have no idea as to what exactly was in that other vial. Uh oh."
"Uh oh is right," said Ginny. "I don't think my brothers would be too malicious, but they do hate Snape."
"All we can do is wait and pray," replied Harry. They didn't have to wait long, though, as at that moment Snape's head fell face first into his food. The Great Hall went silent, and everyone turned to look at the fallen professor. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey hurried over to him. Madam Pomfrey pulled him upright and began checking him, while Professor McGonagall began examining his plate. She apparently found something, because she held up an object that was invisible to the students. She then straightened and called out, "Draco Malfoy, please come with me." A buzz started among the students, full of wild speculation that only increased when Madam Pomfrey conjured a stretcher and floated Professor Snape away on it.
Laughing while they walked, Ginny and Harry made their way over to where the twins were sitting with Lee Jordan and the three Chasers. "What was in that vial?" asked Harry between chuckles.
"Oh, just a 24 hour Sleeping Draught," replied George, amongst the laughter of the older students. "We felt that we shouldn't have Potions, so we sent you on the mission today."
"Thanks," said Ginny. "You chose a day when I don't have Potions. You're going to pay for this one."
Harry, on the other hand, was smirking. "I do," he said. "This is a joyous occasion indeed."
"We know," Angelina said dryly. "We have class right after you. Snape's always in a foul mood, muttering about 'that dratted Potter.' We get the leftovers from his tirades against you."
"Sorry about that," chuckled Harry. "At least you get today off. Talk to you later." He and Ginny wandered off to join Ron and Hermione. "Hey Ron, where are you going?" he yelled as he walked back. "The Common Room is that way."
Ron and Hermione turned around. "But Harry, we have Potions," said Hermione.
Harry just grinned. "Not today we don't."
* * * * * Harry was sitting in the Common Room later that day, trying to get his homework finished before Quidditch practice, when Fred and George skidded to a stop in front of him. He looked at them suspiciously. "What are you up to now?"
George immediately looked affronted. "Why, Captain Potter sir, we are hurt. We would never do anything to raise suspicion."
"Nothing at all," Fred continued for his brother. "We would never eavesdrop on Professor McGonagall giving Malfoy a detention."
Harry was intrigued. "What does he have to do?" "Ah, now you're thinking along the proper lines. Tomorrow night he has to help the house elves cook. Since the crime was done in the kitchen, the punishment must also be there. We like how Professor McGonagall thinks."
"But we need your help. You're the one with an Invisibility Cloak, after all. We want pictures. You'll be able to borrow Colin Creevey's camera, since you are his idol, and take Ginny the same way as this morning. You might want to switch roles, though, so the house-elves don't get suspicious."
Harry grinned. "This will be fun. Now, let's get to practice."
* * * * * Harry's good mood was undiminished after practice, even though he was soaked to the bone. Practice had been nearly perfect, even through a storm that would have been better termed a monsoon. The twins had listened to Harry the entire time. The girls had been impressed, especially after the dive-bombing debacle of years previous. Harry wasn't going to tell them it was due to the fact that he was involved in their ongoing prank.
The only problem he had now was the fact that his head was ringing. He had had to put away the balls himself tonight. Usually he had the Reserves do it, but he had sent them in early because of the storm. While he was putting away the balls, he had slipped and hit his head on the crate that held the balls. Because of this, he had barely evaded Filch on his way up to the Tower, and had nearly passed out while he was in the bath in the Prefects' Bathroom. He didn't want to see Madame Pomfrey and hear her cluck over him again, especially since she was still in a bad mood about having Professor Snape in the Hospital Wing. He wobbled his way to the Common Room, and flopped heavily on to one of the couches, thankful that he had finished his homework before practice. He leaned his head back on the cushion, and promptly fell over sideways.
"Harry? Harry! HARRY!" Harry looked up to find the source of the voice. His vision was blurry, but it cleared quickly and he saw a pretty, upside- down face framed with red hair looking at him with concern.
"Oh, Hi Gin," Harry said.
"Harry, you scared me, falling over like that. What's wrong?" she asked.
"Hit my head on the ball crate," he replied.
"You should go to the Hospital Wing, she stated, sounding very much like her mother.
"I'm not going there again," Harry stated flatly.
"Well, at least, put this on your head." She transfigured a spare mug into a ice pack and gave it to him.
"Thanks," he said, putting the icepack over the spot where he had hit his head. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do," she declared. "Who else is going to go with me tomorrow night?"
"They told you about that?"
"Of course. They need me, after all. I'm one of the few people that they can trust, and who they don't need to be around them," she said, smiling.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"Well, they'd trust Angelina and Katie, but they want them around at all times, right?" she said, clearly amused.
"Oh yeah. . .," Harry's voice trailed off as he realized what exactly she had meant. Ginny giggled, and Harry laid back and enjoyed being nursed for the evening.
* * * * * "OK Potter, are you sure you're up to this?"
"Yes, Ginny," Harry said with an exasperated sigh to punctuate her giggles. He had enjoyed being nursed the previous night, but the payoff had been a full day of Ginny making fun of him for his weakness. "I didn't go to the Hospital Wing, did I?"
"Only because your male pride got in the way," she said. "If you had any sense you would have gone."
"Well, obviously I don't, so let's get on with the task at hand," he said, annoyed.
They made their way down the familiar path to the kitchens. Harry, remembering the hard-earned lesson from their previous trip to the kitchens, again kept a hard eye on the Map. He once had to pull Ginny off to the side to avoid Peeves, but they reached the kitchens without further incident. Once again, Ginny slipped out of the cloak and pulled open the portrait. They had decided she would elicit far less attention from Malfoy than he would. This time, the twins had asked her to bring back a mince pie, so she obliged them, and Harry made quick work of the photography. They quickly exited, and once they were out, Ginny asked Harry about his part.
"Well, did you get them?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah," Harry said with a sinister smile. "I got them all right. You'll love these photographs." She tried to get him to tell her more, but he just gave her a strange smile, and would not say a word. When they got back to the Common Room, he gave the camera to Colin, with instructions to develop them and give them to the twins straightway.
* * * * * Three days later, the photographs forgotten, Ginny walked into the Great Hall with the famous trio to find almost everyone but the Slytherins laughing. A Gryffindor First Year who she didn't know handed her something. She didn't look at it right away, instead searching for her older brothers, who were usually the ones responsible when this pattern of laughing happened. Having found them, she left the now laughing Harry and Ron with the tutting Hermione, who seemed to be having a hard time keeping from laughter herself.
"What did you do?" she asked them.
George answered. "Us? We didn't do anything."
Fred continued, "We're perfectly innocent, as always"
"Anyway, you did all the work."
"You and Harry."
"The results are in your hand. They speak for themselves."
Ginny looked down at the object in her hands, and was greeted with the funniest thing she had seen in some time. It was a wizard photograph of Malfoy dutifully making a cake in the kitchens. The crowning detail was the absolutely ridiculous baker's hat on his head. Ginny wore a smile for the rest of the day.
A/N: Many thanks to Nome for the idea of Malfoy in a baker's hat. It was the basis for the whole chapter. Also, many thanks to my beta reader Imogen. Without her, my story would be filled with USisms.
